Government

Japan’s constitution came into basic form in 1947 and requires the independence of three branches of government – legislative (the Diet), executive (the cabinet), and judicial (the courts).

The Diet, Japan’s national parliament, is the highest level of state power and the sole law-making institution of the state. The Diet comprises the 480-set House of Representatives (lower house) and the 242-seat House of Councillors (upper house), which are elected from the 47 prefectures (similar to states in the U.S.). All Japanese citizens can vote in elections once they reach the age of 20.

Japan has a parliamentary system of government like Britain and Canada. Unlike the American system, the Japanese do not elect a president directly. Diet members elect a prime minister from among themselves, and then the prime minister forms and leads the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet is responsible to the Diet, and can be removed by a vote of the Diet, if necessary.

Judicial power lies with the Supreme Court and lower courts, such as high courts, district courts, and summary courts. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and 14 other justices, all of whom are appointed by the cabinet. Most cases, however, are handled by the district courts or the summary courts (which deal with problems like traffic violations).

Information Gathered From:

Explore Japan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2004